Originating in the Middle East about 2000 years ago, English soldiers brought the instrument back to England after their failed attempt to conquer Persia during the Crusades about 1000 years ago. Dulcimers have many names in many lands: santur in the Middle East, yang q'in in China, hackbrett in Austria, zither in Germany, and cymbalom in Hungary. The name "dulcimer" is derived from Latin, meaning "sweet sound". Hammered dulcimers were popular in England during the reign of James I, when the Bible was translated into English as the King James Bible. The dulcimer was mentioned in the Book of Daniel 3:5 among other instruments "..the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music..." The dulcimer was later mechanized to become what we now know as the harpsichord which later evolved in the piano.
There are various Hammered Dulcimer postings from YouTube of different tunes, and NO I AM NOT PLAYING ANY OF THESE TUNES. Maybe someday when I have the equipment to do so. I have included a link to my You Tube Channel. I invite you to go and watch any of my videos on the site also check out some of the different channels I subscribe to.
